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Much of this month has witnessed a slow but steady build-up of Russian troops in Syria. The Russian move is of huge significance - militarily as well geopolitically - not by what it brings to the table, but by what it prevents the other protagonists from doing in that tragic conflict.
Election season has begun in the country as in the next two months, five states are going to have assembly elections which are being billed as mini-general elections. Soon thereafter, parliamentary elections will be held in the first four months of the next year to elect the 16th Lok Sabha (lower house).
The politics of India is changing. The change will come not just through macro measures like the introduction of large-scale manufacturing or modern agriculture, but in a number of small ways - better schools, safer cities, better urban facilities, mental institutions and jails, fairer purvey of justice and so on.
As someone who started wearing uniform 56 years ago and then saw life from a cadet in the Academy to the Chief of the Army Staff, I feel disappointed with the unfair manner in which the whole issue of women in the Army has been dealt with in public.
Even today, the Army continues to be organised on the basis of regional, linguistic, caste and religious affiliations. Nearly 70 years since Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose raised combat units in which personnel from all over India served together, it is time that our Armed Forces seriously consider these issues of regionalism, ethnicity and deployment of women in combat roles.
That the Yadavs also constitute the political class is a fact but in this instance neutralized by the backward environment in which women of intermediate castes live
From recent events it is evident that misogyny and patriarchal attitudes cut across party lines, ideologies, sexes and classes. Worse still is the fact that whatever is being won by the serious and concerted efforts of those who really 'care' is being squandered by those who do not.
Having created unprecedented diplomatic opportunities in the first term, the UPA has managed to squander them in the second. India's ambassadors, gathering in New Delhi this week, are in a better position than most to reflect on the undeniable reversal of India's international fortunes in the second term of the UPA government.
The Madras High Court¿s notice to authorities in some coastal districts of southern Tamil Nadu over the ¿public hearings¿ on the Sethusamudram project proposal has brought out a new facet in Central-State relations unnoticed by many. Coming under the Union Shipping Ministry, the Tuticorin Port Trust, entrusted with the Rs 3000-crore project,
ORF Director Sunjoy Joshi said the seminar on "BRICS trade, investment and finance cooperation"is part of the ongoing research agenda which will feed into the South Afr ican Summit to be held next year.
The ORF Chennai Chapter of Observer Research Foundation (ORF) brought together eminent, senior retired civil servants and police officials, well-known academicians and journalists and policy makers for two days, on January 28 & 29, 2005, at a Workshop on the Naxalite Movement. Mr D Raja, National Secretary, Communist Party of India, inaugurated the Workshop, which was conducted under the guidance of Mr B Raman, Distinguished Fellow and Convenor,
Observer Research Foundation on August 21 organised a day-long workshop on ¿ Access to Justice in India¿ particularly for the poor and vulnerable sections of the society. Drawing the attention of the participants, ORF Chairman R.K.Mishra, in his welcome address said there was no dearth of studies and recommendations on improving the justice delivery system in the country but the will to implement them was what was missing
On 15 and 16 March 2007, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi, and the Center on Global Counter-Terrorism Cooperation of the Fourth Freedom Forum, USA, convened a two-day South Asia Regional Workshop, "Security and Liberty," which examined the relationship between human rights and counter-terrorism. This Chairmen's Report highlights some of the themes and recommendations put forward during the workshop.
A two-day workshop on international terrorism in the South-East Asian region and its likely implications for South Asia was organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) at its headquarters at New Delhi on April 28 and 29, 2004, under its International Terrorism Watch Project.
Delhi, which saw President Obama build on Bush's strategic initiative towards India, has no dog in the presumed fight on foreign policy between the Democrats and Republicans in this election. There is no argument between the two candidates on the US relationship with India.
The ISIS has the potential to become the unifying terrorist force in the South East Asia region, posing a bigger threat to the region, according to terrorism expert Mr. Vikram Rajakumar. He also pointed out the emerging pro and anti ISIS factions in the region, counter balancing the ISIS.
The world sees India as not contributing positively to the international trade negotiations and this makes it difficult for India to actively participate in ongoing major plurilateral trade negotiations, according to Dr. Harsha Vardhana Singh, India's former DDG to WTO.
If the world rapidly forgot about the Indian role in the Second World War, independent India did a lot worse. Its political leaders trivialised the war by dismissing it a colonial enterprise. Seventy years later, the time has come for political India to put the war in its proper historical context and celebrate the extraordinary contributions of the Indian people.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the World War-II. This day should have been used to reflect on the pain inflicted by the war. Unfortunately, this anniversary appears to be degenerating into a political battle, that could have a critical impact on Japan's diplomacy and reputation, especially in Asia.
Pakistan is facing an unprecedented power crisis, the worst in its history, with the deficit estimated to be over 8,000 MW. Rather than a shortage in its installed capacity.
ORF holds a dialogue on the creation of Telangana where two Congress Lok Sabha Members of Parliament participated
To be relevant, the WTO cannot keep postponing handling the major sticking points. It has to fulfill its agenda of ending rich country farm subsidies and tackle issues like rules governing intellectual property rights - things that regional FTAs are already dealing with.
His appointment as the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission is a clear indication of the eventual change of guard in 2012
The Chinese diplomacy seems to have erred on the side of aggression. A golden opportunity "to make a new beginning" was lost mainly due to the face-off in Ladakh. Modi genuinely wanted a much higher level of engagement, but the Chinese President failed to seize the opportunity.
As Xi and Modi meet in first Ahmedabad and then in New Delhi, India has political and strategic issues that it will want China to respond to - the contested border and territorial issues, China-Pakistan cooperation on nuclear, missile, maritime and border infrastructure issues.
Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit and accompanying independent agreements with Maldives and Sri Lanka, on undefined maritime issues and cooperation, have the potential for causing greater concern not only in India, but in the shared neighbourhood and beyond.
The Western policy of isolating Russia has only served to push Russia deeper into Chinese arms. Russia and China are planning to increase their engagement in Central Asia and will coordinate their policies in the former Soviet territories in Eurasia.
Seeing China’s options from Xi’s point of view leads us to no other conclusion. We must prepare as best we can for what it to come.
In Maldives, the combined Opposition rally on June 12 failed to impress or inspire. The failure is attributed to the confusion caused by the unclear Opposition response to President Yameen's call for political negotiations.
The targeted assassination of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, the founder of the militant Hamas group, by Israel was a dangerous act of escalation. Hamas, locked in a violent campaign with Israel, responded to the outrage with threats to "send death to every house, every city and every street in Israel." Hamas has avenged Israeli targeted killings with suicide bombings in the past.
While India continues to evacuate its citizens from Yemen, China was quick to complete its operation last week. China had barely 600 people in Yemen to rescue. India had nearly 4,000 citizens in Yemen when the evacuation began last week amid the escalation of the conflict.
Just as Zia ul Haq and the ISI chose to keep the Mujahideen as an asset, so did Yemen President Saleh. Therefore, there should be no surprise at the presence of Al Qaeda in Yemen
For those cynical about the dialogue process with Pakistan, the lack of substance in the joint statement issued after the latest round of Foreign Secretary level talks (July 4-5) confirms our neighbour's unwillingness to fundamentally revise its thinking on core bilateral differences.
The impressive participation around the world on International Yoga Day is indeed a testimony to India's immense soft power. However, Modi should remember that India's soft power has the greatest impact when official New Delhi keeps its heavy hand away from it.
With the aim of bringing together some of the brightest young minds working on various issues of national and international importance, Observer Research Foundation has initiated a forum called the Young Voices Policy Forum.
Although Yuan appreciation is warranted, politicians in the US should be aware that this is not a panacea for global imbalances and especially their huge trade deficit. Appreciation of the Yuan will not change the import needs of the US and the widening of the trade deficit to $48.1 billion in March.
Accountability, like any other term associated with modern good governance, is a grossly abused word in Pakistan. Just as the victors of a war determine what the terms of the peace are, the people running the government determine what sort of accountability, and whom to target with it, the country requires.
When Dr. Manmohan Singh and Mr. Asif Ali Zardari meet in New Delhi on Sunday, they could productively focus on two important themes - one, looking at a number of agreements that could be clinched in the next few months. Two, to set a date for Dr. Singh's visit to Pakistan.
After Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) on India-Pakistan borders having almost failed, may be, hopefully, the high-profile pilgrimage of President Asif ali Zardari will play a role in making the visits of not-so-high profile ones less arduous and cumbersome.
